Homeless treated to movie night in park

For many of Calgary’s homeless, a trip to a regular movie theatre is out of the question,

But thanks to the combined efforts of Street Church Ministries, Tyler Hall and other volunteers, the movie screen will be brought to the homeless on Sun¬day night.

The Movie in the Park festival will see a 600-square-foot inflatable screen set up in Triangle Park, on the east side of the LRT flyover east of the Calgary Drop-In Centre. The screen will show Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ to hundreds of homeless individuals on Easter Sun-day. "Here is an opportunity to bring the movies to the homeless," said Hall, chief executive of Statement Enter-prises Inc. and donor of the screen, "Because it’s Easter, they found it fit¬ting to show The Passion of the Christ."

Those attending will also be treated to free pizza, popcorn, hot beverages, and other food. They’ll also be eligible for more than 2,000 giveaways. In addition to the film’s screening, there will be various motivational speakers, musical entertainment and the possibility of a few baptisms in the ‘ Bow River. "If we can reach them (homeless peo-ple) with love, suddenly they realize that someone cares," said Art Pawlowski of Street Church.

About 150 to 200 volunteers have of-fered their time to the event. Hall said the Movie in the Park festi-val was created to "treat the homeless with dignity and respect." Street Church volunteers passed out invitations on the street. This will be the first Easter out¬reach program for Street Church Min¬istries. "If you can stir hope in their hearts, it can get them off the streets;’ said Pawlowski.

The festival begins at 7 p.m. on the grassy area east of the Drop-In Cen¬tre. The movie will be aired at sundown and the public is also invited to at¬tend.